In the fast-paced environment of a hospital, particularly at an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), efficient communication between medical personnel and patients is essential. For doctors and nurses, knowing how a patient is feeling, what pre-existing conditions or allergies they have, the circumstances of their illness or accident, and other information may lead to accurate (or more accurate) diagnosis, faster treatments, and better outcomes. However, such communication is often inhibited by the medical conditions or devices associated with the patient's hospitalization. For these patients, an unconventional form of communication is needed to ensure the transfer of vital information from the patient to the medical personnel.
There are known systems that have been utilized in efforts to enable efficient communication between patients and medical personnel. Prior computerized solutions such as the Maestro and Vmax+ from DynaVox® enable patients capable of finger movement to type words and select commands from a touch screen. For patients with limited mobility, eye tracking is a preferred option. Systems such as DynaVox®'s EyeMax™ and LC Technology's Eyegaze Edge® provide a user interface that can be controlled by eye movements by tracking the location of a patient's eyes. By looking at different options on the screen, patients may select various words and commands. However, such systems are often prohibitively expensive, with most models typically costing between $7,000 and $10,000, making them difficult for hospitals to adopt and leaving a critical communication gap between medical personnel and patients.
To reduce cost, hospitals commonly use “pointing cards.” Pointing cards typically have a word or a phrase such as “pain,” “hot,” “cold,” and “stay with me,” along with an icon representing the word or phrase. A nurse or a family member will hold up the card, and the patient will point at the icon representing the message they wish to express. This process, however, is tedious and time-consuming for both medical personnel and patients. Moreover, raising an arm to point can be difficult or impossible for immobile patients. In addition, the information obtained can be vague or may require further interpretation by medical personnel, which can lead to communication errors. Therefore, the entire process can be frustrating to medical personnel, and more significantly, to patients.
In order to make communication easier and quicker, a relatively low-cost computerized communication assistance system is needed. Most patients capable of conscious thought retain the ability to move their eyes, and eye movement requires less physical strength than other forms of gesturing. Aspects and embodiments of the present invention are directed to providing communication systems and methods that utilize a patient's eye movement. In one embodiment of the present invention, a computer system captures images of a patient's eyes and processes the images to classify the patient's gaze direction as one of several possible commands. The command is then used as an input for an interface that will enable the patient to express words or phrases.
Embodiments of the present invention provide a relatively inexpensive system that is patient-friendly and readily accessible by medical personnel and patients. Aspects and embodiments of the present invention can be implemented on existing computer systems, such as conventional desktop computer, tablets, or laptop computers to determine the commands from eye movements of a patient. Preferred embodiments function with a variety of backgrounds and lighting conditions behind and surrounding the patient. Preferred embodiments also accommodate a variety of secondary user facial features such as different skin and/or eye color, and maintain operational effectiveness and readiness when parts of face are obscured, for example, by bandages and/or breathing tubes.